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“I am profoundly disappointed that the NDP has not taken a public stand on this,” Sheila Block, of the non-partisan Wellesley Institute, told me.

“Lots of people are questioning where has the NDP been,” added Deena Ladd, head of the Workers’ Action Centre.

Ever since activists launched a grassroots campaign one year ago to boost the minimum wage to $14, the NDP has been AWOL. Radio silence.

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Back then, labour and NGOs teamed up to pressure the new Liberal premier, Kathleen Wynne, to lift a four-year freeze on the $10.25 benchmark. But when the left-leaning alliance appealed for support from the putative progressives in the NDP, they got a surprise: Nothing.

Again last week, when an expert panel appointed by Wynne recommended inflation protection for the minimum wage, the NDP went to ground. And when news broke that the Liberal cabinet would go further by approving a one-time increase of 75 cents to $11, the NDP remained mum on the minimum wage.

By her conspicuous silence, Horwath left the field wide open to the business lobby and the business press to badmouth any increase as a job-killer that will hurt the economy — echoed, predictably, by the Tories.

When did the party of the working poor lose its voice? Listen to the sound of Horwath clearing her throat when she finally emerged from the NDP’s Witness Protection Program this week — nine days after the panel’s exhaustive report, and nine months after its work started.

“Well, look, I respect the work of the grassroots movements that have been calling for the $14 minimum wage, but I think that what our role is right now is to consult with families that are affected, as well as small business particularly that’s also affected,” she told reporters Tuesday.

Horwath telegraphed her ambivalence by repeatedly citing her favourite new stakeholder — “small business.” When reporters pressed the NDP leader, she let her irritation and frustration come through:

“I think that I’ve answered, pretty much, most of the questions on minimum wage. If there’s other questions . . . .”

When one journalist persisted, Horwath bit off her head: “I’ve given you the response that I’m prepared to give at this point in time,” she snapped.

Why is Horwath suddenly so tongue tied? Under her leadership, the NDP has transmogrified itself from a progressive to a populist party. Now, the third party is riding high in the polls and dreams of a breakthrough. She wants to broaden her appeal in the vote-rich middle-class suburbs and among small business owners by downplaying the party’s radical roots. Poverty is not a rich source of votes.

Horwath also feels boxed in. The NDP’s 2011 campaign platform called for an $11 minimum wage protected by inflation indexing, worth about $11.20 in today’s dollars. That’s a mere 20 cents off the latest Liberal benchmark, making it hard for Horwath to credibly criticize Wynne. (MPP Cheri DiNovo was the lone New Democrat to break with Horwath when she publicly endorsed the $14 target last year. The party didn’t go along.)

Sources say the NDP briefly considered supporting a $12 minimum wage to outdo Wynne, but took a vow of silence to avoid antagonizing small business during a hard-fought campaign for the Feb. 13 byelection in Niagara Falls. Here’s another news flash: The flirtation with small business will break Horwath’s heart.

While other business groups were relatively muted on the minimum wage, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business took a reflexively hard line. Far from a natural ally, it’s an eternal antagonist on pensions, taxes and wages. The notion of straddling left and right is a recipe for friction.

While sweet-talking small business, Horwath has been snubbing big labour in its hour of maximum need on the hourly minimum wage. Horwath was missing in action when anti-poverty activists needed her voice to prod the government and push back against business big and small.

“It would have been very helpful for the NDP to not only take a stand, but a strong stand,” said Block, who heads economic analysis at the Wellesley Institute.

“People need to see the NDP talk about the issues,” added Ladd, of the Workers’ Action Centre, who warned that “abandoning” its roots will undermine the party: “How can you expect our support when it’s election time when . . . you weren’t there?”

Many activists say the NDP is interested in poverty only when it can be deployed as a “wedge issue,” peeling away progressive supporters from the Liberals. By playing coy, Horwath is driving a maximum wedge on the minimum wage within her own base.

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